Understanding the Significance of the Project Charter
The project charter, as defined by the Project Management Institute, is the document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.
The project charter outlines the intended outputs of the project, covering crucial aspects such as the project’s purpose, high-level requirements, summary milestones, pre-approved financial resources, boundaries, key stakeholders, project exit criteria, and business needs.
Despite its importance, a charter should remain simple, straightforward, and concise, providing a sense of ease and clarity to the project manager and team members.
A common misconception is that the sponsors always write the project charter. In reality, sponsors, often senior managers, typically communicate their directives verbally due to their limited time.
Therefore, the project manager or the responsible individual must document these verbal instructions in a follow-up email or another formal document to seek confirmation and agreement. This practice not only ensures clarity and alignment with the sponsor’s vision but also provides a written record that can be referred to throughout the project’s lifecycle.
When many requirements need to be gathered, the initial charter might be signed off only to approve the detailed requirement gathering. This preliminary charter is designed to be adaptable and ready to evolve as the project progresses and more information becomes available.